3 Virginia Beers Named Among Very Best In America

RICHMOND, VA — It's the weekend, finally, so let's talk beer.

If you're planning to celebrate the weekend with a drink, consider trying these Virginia beers, which have been recently named among the very best craft brews in America by The Daily Meal.

The popular food and drink website did the impossible and came up with an analysis of the 101 best beers in America. There are some obvious favorites on the list (Dogfish Head, anyone?) but Virginia shows up with three brews highlighted.

The Virginia beers on the foodie website's list are: Hardywood Park's Kentucky Christmas Morning in Richmond; The Veil Brewing Co. Never Never Again Again, also in Richmond; and Alewerks Brewing Company in Williamsburg's Bitter Valentine.

We have more details on the beer below but first, let us explain how this list was created.

The Daily Meal said it cross-checked beer ratings on Untappd, BeerAdvocate, and RateBeer, looking for the beers that "average beer drinkers and beer-tasting professionals alike" have given the highest ratings. In addition, editors at The Daily Meal used their own tasting experience and knowledge to include some of the best brews they've encountered recently.

Beers hailing from nearly every state in America were included on the list. The list does not rank the beers in order from top to bottom because, as the website says, "it's frankly impossible to weigh the merits of, say, a witbier versus the merits of a Russian imperial stout."

(For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here. And like Patch on Facebook!)

Here are some more details on the Virginia beers The Daily Meal says are among the very best in America:

Hardywood Park Kentucky Christmas Morning, Richmond, Virginia

Hardywood Park’s Gingerbread Stout is aged in bourbon barrels to make the brewery’s finest beer: Kentucky Christmas Morning. Notes of vanilla, coconut, and coffee come through to this beautiful ginger-spiced beer for a drink that’s perfect for the most wonderful time of year. It has an ABV score of 10.6 percent.

The Veil Brewing Co. Never Never Again Again, Richmond

Never Never Again Again double raspberry gose is the older, cooler, leather jacket-wearing brother to Veil’s original Never Again. We kid you not; it’s described as being “literally insane.” Brewers used more than half a ton of raspberry purée in this recipe, giving it a smoothie-esque texture. That makes it healthy, right? Unlike most goses, this pretty pink drink won’t make you pucker your lips. It’s all smooth sailing with this one, fellers. It has an ABV score of 5.1 percent.

Alewerks Brewing Company Bitter Valentine, Williamsburg

Though Alewerks Brewing Company is based in Virginia, it’s Double IPA Bitter Valentine is full of flavor from the Pacific Northwest. Not only are the hops farmed from there, but this beer also has a nice pine flavor, recalling the great and fragrant trees of the West Coast. Though the name is all bitter, this beer has a light sweetness making it a fine, balanced beer. There’s nothing not to love here. It has an ABV score 8.3 percent.

If you're into beer you might recognize some of the more popular or highly rated brews on the list, including Russian River Pliny the Elder — and Younger, of course — Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, Allagash White, Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout and The Alchemist Heady Topper.

These days, it seems many are selecting craft beers over the more widely produced varieties. According to the Brewers Association, overall beer sales in America were down 1.2 percent in 2017. But craft beer sales jumped 5 percent and accounted for 12.7 percent of the overall beer market.

In Virginia, there are 190 craft breweries, the group found.

Click here to see the full list of the 101 Best Beers in America at The Daily Meal.

Photo credit: Shutterstock / Natalya Okorokova